As we move further into the 2025-2026 school year, and as technology futurizes, we are redefining how to use artificial intelligence, popularly known as AI.
A new policy document outlines acceptable uses and guidelines for the AFS community.
As part of the roll-out, Upper School students will be introduced to the AI policy this fall through AI literacy instruction.
According to the policy, “These sessions will be student-led in collaboration with faculty and may include skill building (e.g., prompting, curation), critical discussions, and collaborative projects.”
Brendon Jobs, Director of Upper School, said, “You can imagine that part of the process will be conversations, learning, and growth as we’ve done in the past.”
John Rison, Director of Technology, added onto Jobs’ comment and said, “We hope that students will sort of be a little bit forthright in their acknowledgement of how they use AI.”
The logistical part of the new policy includes education to students about how to properly use AI and integrate it into casual school life. Jobs spoke about how he experimented with AI himself.
Jobs said, “I’m trying to be explicit about the way that I’m playing with AI, so that the students feel open enough to be explicit with us around the way they are also potentially leveraging or using AI.”
The policy names Gemini as a preferred AI platform.
Rison said, “Institutionally, we feel that Gemini fits into our Google app sort of universe of tools, and we can monitor and manage it a little bit more.”
Andrew Lyn ‘26, who previously participated in the AI ExTerm, expressed curiosity.
Lyn said, “My opinion about AI has changed because I thought that AI was just a way to get work done faster but now I think that it can also be a guide to help you get better at things without a teacher, but you still should ask your teacher if it’s okay.”
When asked how the new policy would affect himself and the student body, Lyn said, “I don’t think it would affect anybody in a major way, and I think we already use it as a tool now.”
Cadence Carson • Dec 18, 2025 at 11:49 am
I agree with this approach to AI described by Brendon Jobs and John Rison because it prioritizes honesty and learning rather than punishment. I believe that AFS’s AI policy supports students best by teaching them how to use AI responsibly instead of banning it. As the article asserts, students will receive AI literacy instruction that includes prompting, discussion, and collaboration with faculty. As the article explains, students will receive AI literacy instruction that includes prompting, discussion, and collaboration with faculty. This shows that the school values growth and honesty over fear of misuse. This reinforces the idea that the school believes that students will learn best from the trust and responsibility of using artificial intelligence to deepen their understanding instead of trying to complete their assignments earlier. From my own experience,when I am allowed, I will use AI to help generate study guides, organize ideas, or check my understanding before submitting work. By using artificial intelligence as a learning tool, students have the opportunity to ask questions, organize their thoughts, and check their understanding while still keeping their original ideas. By encouraging open discussion for the different uses of technology, AFS creates a community that is built on trust, which helps students build responsibility which is a key tool for college and future career success.
Joseph Lee • Dec 10, 2025 at 5:29 pm
John hopes that students will be more honest about how they’re using AI. I’m really, really, glad that he brought that up because I don’t think most students will want to admit that they use AI, even on anonymous surveys. As for these “sessions” – I don’t doubt that students will be willing to talk about how AI is being used or how students/teachers could potentially use it more honestly and productively, but the real challenge is getting people to discuss more openly about their personal relationship with AI. That includes acknowledging that they’ve used it to complete homework, write essays, etc.
Helene • Dec 9, 2025 at 9:03 am
Generative AI is not going anywhere unfortunately, so having adult led discussions about how to use it effectively and honestly seems to be a strong way to mitigate some of the ignorance around it. I hope that in these discussions, the environmental, global, and social impacts of AI will be central to the education process. AI is not a neutral tool, the data sets are taken in an exploitative manor using people from developing countries in desperate situations. And within the United States, massive data sets are uprooting whole rural towns. AI can be helpful, but for the most part students should think about the impact they make with it.